


A fleece blanket and woolen socks

by dont_hate_me01



Series: Brothers [4]
Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Brotherhood, Gen, Past Medical Procedures, Protective Older Brothers, Team as Family, past angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 15:04:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18719494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dont_hate_me01/pseuds/dont_hate_me01
Summary: Postoperative care is of great importance, especially if your name is Clay Spenser. But just how does your team prepare for something like that?





	A fleece blanket and woolen socks

**Author's Note:**

> Beta work done by the ever amazing, [jesco0307](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesco0307). Thank you – again!

“Fleece blanket?”

“Check.”

“Woolen socks?”

“Check.”

Sonny looked up at Trent. He couldn’t hide the angst he felt.

“He’s gonna be okay, Sonny.”

“You sure?” Sonny repacked the bag, even if they just did it now.

“Sonny.” Trent reached out and dragged his brother to his side. Before Sonny could object, he hugged him hard. “He’s gonna be okay.”

“But…”

Trent shook his head. “No buts, Sonny.” He nodded. “I know the last time was bad. We all got a good scare, but this time we’re prepared. He’s gonna be all right and we will be too.”

It was Sonny turn to nod. “Okay.” His shoulders sagged.

“It’s only for one night.”

“I still hate it.”

Trent smiled. “We all do.”

Both men glanced up as Bravo team’s door opened. Sonny laughed when he saw what Jason held in his hands.

“I think we’ve got it covered, Boss.” He held up the four pairs of woolen socks.

Jason grinned. “Can never have to many woolen socks, Sonny.” He tossed the two pairs to Trent. “The bag packed?”

“Yep.” Trent stuffed the extra pairs of socks into the bag as well. Jason was right. One could never have too many woolen socks.

When the team door opened up again, all three men gazed up. They could only grin. Brock had two pairs of socks in his hands and Cerberus carried a bag in his mouth. The light blue material that peeked out from the top told them what it was.

“Woolen socks and a fleece blanket.” Brock passed it on to Trent. He didn’t say a word when he noticed the other pairs of socks and the fleece blankets.

Trent packed everything out of the bag and walked to his cage.

“What are you doing?” Sonny held up the different items.

“Getting a bigger bag,” Trent replied over his shoulder as he grabbed a large backpack from his cage.

The men nodded and he repacked the bag in silence. Trent could feel the tension building up inside of the room once again. He was about to speak up when the door opened again. Trent shook his head and accepted the offered items from Ray. Two pairs of woolen socks and another fleece blanket.

Ray looked at his teammates. He eyed the bag and then Trent. “We’re being silly.”

Trent smiled and shook his head. “We’re being prepared.”

“Yep. Prepared,” Sonny echoed the statement.

“He’s going to kill us,” Ray addressed the group.

“No, he won’t.” Sonny picked up the bag. He nearly dropped it. It was way heavier than what he thought it would be. “He’s going to be too out of it to kill us.” He managed to smile.

The group of men groaned. Cerberus whined and Trent sighed. “He’s gonna be okay.”

“You sure?” Jason asked as he hopped onto the table.

“Positive.”

“What if?” Brock started to ask.

“No. No what ifs,” Trent cut him short.

“But last time.” Ray moved back when Trent glared at him.

“Listen.” Trent watched all of them. “Clay is going to be all right. It’s a very standard procedure. The surgery will last no longer than forty-five minutes to an hour. We’ve already met with the anesthesiologist. Doctor Brightman is aware of Clay’s sensitivity to different kinds of medication and anesthesia. He and the surgeon both agreed that I’d be present when Clay is wheeled into recovery. I will stay with Clay until he’s taken to his room. We will not let him be alone.” He stared at his team of brothers. “Not again.”

Jason hopped off the table. They all still had nightmares of the first time Clay had to get general anesthesia and none of them were there when he woke up. They only got to him three hours later and by then he was a mess. An hour later, and they weren’t any better than him.

Clay had encountered a sever reaction to the anesthesia he received. They later found out that it had started in the operating room to such an extent that the anesthesiologist had to change the drugs he used to put Clay under. Clay had not only woken up nauseous, but he had vomited for almost half an hour before they finally had gotten it under control. Clay had experienced difficulty with his breathing, and they couldn’t get his oxygen level above eighty-nine. His blood pressure had been dangerously high, while his core body temperature had dropped by nearly two degrees. He had been combative and they had had to restrain him. In the end it had been an old retired nurse who came to visit her grandson who had given them some advice.

By that time, they had been totally dejected and had lacked ideas on how to help Clay. Without even hesitating for a second, Brock and Ray had gone out and bought the required items. It was a pair of thick woolen socks and a warm fleece blanket. It had been a struggle to get the socks on his feet, but in less than an hour, he’d finally settled down. Clay still had had a restless night, but he had been much calmer than before.

Now, he had to go in for a ruptured Achilles tendon. He’d torn the tendon during a training exercise when he jumped from the roof of a single-story structure and landed skew. It would put him on the sideline for approximately four to six months. Clay wasn’t happy about it, but if he wanted to remain a Tier One operator, he had no choice.

Jason eyed the bag with socks and blankets and then laughed. “He’s not going to be able to wear both socks.”

Sonny looked at Jason as if he’d lost his mind. But then it dawned on him as well. Clay’s left foot would be in a solid cast for at least the next thirty days. Then it would be changed to something similar like a moonboot for another thirty days. “Well, then he can wear both socks on the right.” Sonny laughed as Jason rolled his eyes at him.

Jason turned away from Sonny when they heard a commotion at the door. They could hear Clay’s voice even before he entered the room. By the tone of voice, it was clear that Clay was upset. Jason knew of only one person who could get Clay spewing fire. Ash Spenser.

“I told you before, Ash, I’m not interested. I’m not going. I’ve already made other plans for this weekend.”

Jason glanced at Sonny. “Calm down.” He saw Sonny’s clenched fists. “Eric will have a fit if you damage another cage.”

“Well, then let me damage something else, or someone else,” Sonny growled.

“No. We’ve been over this before, Sonny. We’re not going after Ash. Not now.” Jason patted Sonny on the back. He nodded at Trent as their medic moved to Sonny’s side.

“Damn it, Ash. I said no!” Clay stormed through the door. He was red in the face, but his knuckles around his phone were white. He appeared startled when he saw the team in front of him. He gripped the phone even harder.

“I have to go.” Clay ended the call, and before anyone could react, he hurled it against the cage. He threw it so hard, it shattered on impact. Next to follow, was the crutch he’d used to keep the weight off his busted foot. It ricocheted off the side of the cage and landed on the floor. He stood in the middle of the room and heaved hard. His hands trembled as he brought them up to his face. He made a quick turnabout, but forgot about his busted ankle and cried out in pain as his foot gave way and he landed hard on the floor.

“Clay!” Brock was the first to his side, with both Sonny and Trent short on his heels.

“Leave me be!” Clay shoved Brock away as he tried to get to his own feet.

“Spenser,” Ray’s calming tone brought their youngest member to a halt. Ray walked around Clay and hunkered down before him. “Let us help.” He held out his hand.

Clay glanced at the offered hand and then lowered his head. “Why can’t he just let me be?”

“Because he’s an ass.” Sonny joined Ray and hoisted Clay to his feet. He nodded his thanks to Trent, who passed him the crutch. 

Clay snorted at Sonny’s words.

“Don’t let him get you down, Pretty boy.” Sonny gave Clay’s crutch to him and stood back.

Clay nodded. “Thanks.” He glanced at Brock. “I’m sorry.”

Brock shrugged. “No harm done.”

Clay cocked his head. “What are you all doing here? I thought you’d all be lying low for a change.” He knew the team had been given a week off before they would be going on missions – without him. It still stung just thinking about it. But he understood. There was no way that they could keep the best DEVGRU unit in the field out for six months while he recuperated.

Jason hopped off the table and walked up to Clay. He placed his arm around their rookie’s shoulders. “We came in to make sure we’re ready.”

“Ready for what?” Clay asked with a frown. He observed the team room. “You got spun up?” He couldn’t keep the hurt out of his voice.

“No, Peter Pan. We came to make sure we’re ready for you.” Sonny hated the fact that Clay still felt so insecure. They all had been working hard on making sure that Clay knew he was part of the team, but then calls like the one Clay received right now fucked everything up. It was in situations like this, that Clay really was a lost boy.

Clay watched his team of brothers. Cerberus had placed himself right next to Clay while the rest all stood around him. “Why?” Clay received a soft tap on the back of his head. He glanced at Trent.

“You’re our kid brother. You’re going in for surgery. We’re not going to leave you behind alone. We’re here for you.”

Clay blushed. It still felt strange to be cared for like his brothers did. Before it was only Brian who had his six. “I’ll be fine.”

Sonny growled at Clay and Jason grabbed the kid at the back of his neck. “And that’s the thing, Clay. We want you to be more than fine. We want you to be good.” Jason shook Clay lightly.

Clay had no words and he merely nodded. Luckily, he knew they didn’t expect an answer from him. His eye caught the back pack. “What’s in there?” He hobbled to the table.

“Nothing much,” Trent replied.

Clay frowned. “It doesn’t look like nothing.” He reached out to grab hold of the bag, but Sonny slapped his hand away.

“What?”

“No messing with that. If it gets lost, then I’m taking it out on your hide,” Sonny growled.

Clay burst out laughing. “You do realize I’m standing right next to you, Sonny. Just how do you think the bag’s going to get lost?”

“With you, Pretty Boy, anything is possible.”

Clay laughed again. He didn’t reach out for the bag again, but pointed to it. “So, someone going to tell me what it is?” He looked at Trent. He knew if he pushed hard enough, their medic would tell him.

Trent sighed and rolled his eyes. “It’s woolen socks and fleece blankets.”

“What?” This time Clay did reach for the bag. Before anyone could stop him, he opened it up. He took out the first pair of socks and a blanket. He gaped at the rest. “How many pairs of socks and fleece blankets do you need?”

“You can never have enough,” the team spoke up as one. They started laughing.

“I don’t get it.” Clay was confused.

“It’s for you.” Ray placed his arm around Clay’s shoulders.

“Now I understand even less.”

Sonny rolled his eyes and Cerberus sighed.

“It’s because you don’t remember.” Jason hopped back onto the table. Took the socks and blanket from Clay and packed them back into the bag.

“Don’t remember what?” Clay frowned. “Guys, you’re not making sense.”

“What do you remember of the last time you got general anesthesia?”

Clay glanced at Trent. “Nothing much. Know I hated it.” They told him about the weird reaction he’d had to the anesthesia, but other than that, he really didn’t remember much. In fact, the next clear thing he remembered was waking up in his own bed.

“You’re not the only one, Buddy.”

Trent hopped up the table next to Jason. “After the surgery when you were out of it, you didn’t want to settle down. It was more than just throwing a reaction to the medication. We then got some advice on how to get you more comfortable, which we took.”

“Did it work?” Clay reached for the bag again and zipped it open. He touched the soft blanket that was on top.

“It did.”

At first Clay wanted to make a joke, but then he yet again realized something about the men that surrounded him. They truly cared about him. More than his own father ever did. Clay lowered his head. “Thank you.”

More than one arm got slung over his shoulders.

“That’s what families do.” Jason hopped off and pulled Clay close. He rarely did hugs, but their kid brother needed one and he had no problem in giving Clay what he needed. None of them did.

“Okay, enough with all of this emotional crap. I need beer. No, I need tequila.” Sonny slapped Clay on the back and moved away. He stared over his shoulder at his brothers. “Are you coming?”

“Lead, and we will follow.” Jason gave Clay another pat on the back and moved away.

“Only soft drinks for the Kid. No alcohol,” Trent reminded them.

Clay appeared crestfallen and Sonny smiled. “Don’t worry, Poster boy, I’ll take your shots as well.”

Clay grinned. He looked at his team of brothers. “I have a feeling I’m not the only one that’s going to need woolen socks and fleece blankets.”

The team laughed.

“Nothing to fear, young Jedi. The ladies will keep me warm enough. I won’t be needing no socks or blankets.” Sonny winked.

“Sorry, Sonny.” Jason shook his head. “You’re taking Clay in tomorrow morning. No strippers for you tonight.”

It was Sonny’s turn to look like someone had kicked his puppy, but he gazed at Clay and then nodded. “No strippers.” He pointed his finger at Clay. “You owe me.”

Clay assented. “I know.”

“Good. Let’s get going. I can hear the beer from here calling out to me.” Sonny grabbed Clay by the shoulders and dragged him to the door. The rest of the team followed behind them.

They were nearly at the door when Clay turned around. His gaze landed on the bag that was still on the table. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Trent nearly stumbled over his own feet to get back to the bag. He grabbed it and held it to his chest. He had a silly grin on his face. “Think you just saved yourself, Clay.”

Clay shook his head. “No, this team saved me.”

“And you us.” Ray took the bag from Trent and flung it over his shoulder. He would be the responsible one tonight. Well, him and Clay, but they couldn’t expect from Clay to bring his own care bag, now could they?

“Let’s get going. Beer is getting warm.” Jason moved to point and led his team out. He had a feeling that they were going to be in for a rough couple of days with Clay, but it would be all right. They would get through it, because they were a team. They were family.

**The End**


End file.
